French comic books are coming to America, and they look fantastic

San Diego Comic-Con's proper name is Comic-Con International:
San-Diego, but most of what makes headlines is strictly domestic.

This is unfortunate, as there are hundreds of amazing comics
that come from publishers all over the world — many of which
have a presence at the annual convention.

Still, it's hard to get excited about things that are hard
to find, and when you don't have the reach of Marvel or DC, it's
easy to get lost in the noise.

But one French publisher is boldly jumping out into the fray. On
the Monday before Comic-Con, noted French comics publisher
Delcourt Group
announced a partnership with digital comics retailer Comixology to make more
than 150 French titles available in English.

In a statement announcing the news, Comixology CEO David
Steinberger called it "the beginning of the 'French
Invasion' of comics in the English-language market."

While time will tell if Steinberger's on to something or not,
French comics have begun to slowly penetrate American pop culture
over the past few years — critically acclaimed movies like
"Blue is
the Warmest Color" and "Snowpiercer"
are both based on French comics, and graphic novels like
"Beautiful
Darkness" and "Last
Man" have received
overwhelming
praise by the US comics press after being translated to
English.

It also helps when some of these French titles, like "The Curse
of the Wendigo" (one of Delcourt's
debut titles on Comixology) feature talent already well-known
in America — like artist Charlie Adlard of "The
Walking Dead" fame, who collaborated on the title with writer
Mathieu Missoffe.

"It was difficult to do it in a subtle way,"
Delcourt CEO Guy Delcourt told Business Insider, laughing about
the sudden blitz of titles on Comixology.
"Either you do it or you don't. We have
such a big well of comics which are unknown to the American
public, so it's a pleasure to dig into it, and hopefully to have
people realize how diverse and thrilling a lot of them
are."

Delcourt is a 29-year veteran of the French comics industry, and
has visited the crowded floors of San Diego Comic-Con many times
in the past, mostly looking for English-language comics to
publish in his home country. Delcourt's company is the French
publisher for comics ranging from "Star Wars" to "Hellboy," with
some Japanese manga thrown in for good measure.Guy Delcourt, founder of
the Delcourt GroupDelcourt
Group

When asked about what makes French comics special, Delcourt gives
a simple answer: They're all personal.

"We don't have a main genre, like superheroes in
the States, and we are very creator-oriented, so what probably
makes them special is that each of them stems from the
personality of the writers and artists," Delcourt told
BI. "Also, the way they're created
is probably — it's the least industrial thing you can imagine, I
would say. Compared to comics or manga made in the studio way.
It's very rare in France to have a penciller and an inker —
usually the artist does it all most of the time, the color, too.
So he or she would take one year to do fifty pages
... they try to make it as powerful
and rich as possible. Not putting down American comics, I love
them — but it's not the same approach."

It's this more intimate approach to comics that
Delcourt hopes will resonate in the US and the rest of the
English-speaking world. Choosing a digital partner like
Comixology is certainly an excellent first step, since its the
easiest way to reach new readers who aren't prone to wander into
a comics shop — where the French comics format
(called bandes dessinées) runs into another
set of more logistical problems since they are larger than
US comics and don't really fit standard comic
racks.

"We know that it is not
something that will happen overnight," says Delcourt. "We have a
solid program for two years, and it will probably take more time.
And I don't believe that French comics will work as
a whole, because they are individual stories and have strong
personalities. I don't see them as a global thing, like manga.
Hopefully a few of them will work and
will make people want to read more. And also, hopefully they will
be read by professionals in the film industry. If some American
films were created based on French comics, it would certainly be
helpful, and it certainly is one of our indirect goals."

As for which title he has the highest hopes for,
Delcourt mentions "Come Prima" by the cartoonist
Alfred.A panel from
Alfred'sDelcourt

"I love the idea that you can have this story
that is really heartfelt — it comes from his family, two brothers
on a trip to Italy because their father has died," says Delcourt.
"It is a road trip, something with feelings and emotions but it
is also a very simple, straightforward story. So this is quite
touching, and the artwork for me is also, for me, artistic, but
also simple, very accessible. I do hope that it will reach quite
a few people."

"All in all," says
Delcourt, "I think [French comics] gives readers a
different flavor — although the American audience will find
things with which they are familiar: Horror, thrillers,
supernatural stories, sci-fi, fantasy, etc — but done in a
different way. What I hope is that
this different way will make them special and
interesting."